Clara
by olivegrape11
Summary: Teresa was not the first girl in the Glade. ( The Maze Runner trilogy through Clara' s pov)
1. chapter 1

She stood up shakily, her eyes snapping open, the world jostling around her. It was dark, and the air was dusty and stagnant. The terrible screeching sound of metal against metal filled her ears as as a lurching shudder made the floor shake under her feet. The unexpected shift caused her to fall down hard; she shuffled back, sweat beading on her forehead. Eventually she hit a wall behind her, and slid along it until she reached a corner of the room. She hugged her legs to her chest and prayed that her eyes would adjust to the darkness surrounding her.

The dingy elevator swung back and forth as it escalated, making the girl's stomach queasy, and a smell like burnt oil clouded her senses, which only made the nausea worse. She had the strong urge to cry, but no tears came. All she could do was sit and wait for something to happen. It was in that time alone that she repeated the only remnant of her life she had left. Her name.

"Clara... " she whispered over and over again while the room swayed.

She didn't know how it was possible, how her mind worked without any problems, but any memory of her life before she ended up where she was, had been replaced with blurry images of what used to be. She couldn't remember how she got in the lift, who her parents were, or even her last name. It all left her mind.

The room kept ascending; Clara was getting accustomed to the noise and movement of the lift. A long time seemed to pass, minutes turned into hours, or that's how it seemed. She felt emotions churn inside her: fear, curiosity, uneasiness. But despite all that she still somehow felt numb inside.

With a creak and a loud bang, the room suddenly stopped rising; the change jolted Clara and threw her across the floor. She scrambled to her feet and everything went silent.

A couple minutes passed; Clara waited intently for something to happen. She looked around her for something to appear or open, but there was nothing. She ran her hand along the cool metal of the room just in case. Still nothing. Clara groaned in frustration; the sound only echoed around her. It faded, and it was quiet again. Fear started to rise up in her again, she thought she'd be trapped in the lift forever.

A loud clank sounded above Clara; she sucked in a startled breath and scurried over to a stack of boxes, hoping she could hide from whatever made the noise. She looked up in anticipation, and saw that a straight line of light had appeared on the ceiling, and Clara watched as it grew bigger. A heavy grating noise revealed sliding doors being forced open. After being in the dark for so long the lightstabbed her eyes; she covered her face with her hands and huddled closer to the boxes.

She heard noises above her... voices... and fear squeezed her chest.

"Where's the Greenie?" one voice asked.

"They were supposed to send us one." another one added. Clara was hit with a wave of confusion and panic. She willed her eyes to adjust to the light. At first she saw moving shadows buy they soon turned into bodies leaning towards the room. Looking for her. The chorus of questions filled the air and grew louder until someone quieted them.

"Shut your holes shuckfaces! Someone go down there, see if the Greenie's playin' hide and seek."

Soon enough Clara heard someone jump into the room, which swayed on impact. Clara wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. The sound of footsteps coming toward her echoed off the walls; Clara was getting hysterical. A shadow mercifully covered her face from the sun and Clara's vision cleared, revealing the person hovering over her.

It was a boy, who looked about 17. He was tall, and had messy blond hair. His lips were parted in surprise and he looked at her with wide dark eyes. He swiveled his head toward his colleagues.

"It's a girl." he said in a thick British accent. He turned back toward Clara. It seemed like he could tell she was scared out of her mind because his expression softened.

"It's alright," he soothed gently"I'm not going to hurt you. I need you to come out, please." His voice was deep and warm and almost mesmerizing. Clara could see he was being sincere and hesitantly, she stood up and walked out from behind her hiding place, her legs shaking with each step.

She found out that the shadows she saw earlier were just boys just like the one standing next to her. Each one had a puzzled look on their face. Some gaped, others whispered to each other.

The blond fellow led Clara over to where the crowd was and picked her up by the waist, trying to get her to the others. Hands reached down and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her over the dark box. Someone spoke to her as they hoisted her out of the room, and Clara knew she'd never forget the words.

"Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade."


	2. chapter 2

Everybody stayed a few inches away from Clara, except for a dark skinned boy that looked like the oldest there. The blond boy that helped her out of the lift studied her as if she intrigued him. Clara was still terrified of everything going on so when the dark boy took a few steps toward her, she backed away, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Where am I?" she said hoarsely. The fear in her voice was obvious.

"Nowhere good." the older boy replied. "Just slim yourself nice and calm."

"Which Keeper she gonna get?" At that question a ton of arguments erupted among the group. Clara caught some words that didn't make sense. Shank. Shuck. Slopper. Keeper. The boys said them so naturally that Clara wondered if it was weird for her not to understand them. Once again, panic settled inside her.

"I said shut your holes!" the darker boy yelled" Keep yapping and the next break'll be cut in half!" He was definitely the leader. After the crowd quieted, the leader turned back toward Clara.

"It's a long story, shank" he said "Piece by piece, you'll learn. I'll take you on the tour tomorrow. Till then, don't break anything."

He held out a hand " Name's Alby." Clara hesitated, too scared to move, but she held out her own trembling hand and shook Alby's. The boy nodded in approval and looked at his watch.

"Night's comin', Runners'll be back soon. The Box came late today. We'll have to do the tour tomorrow, after the wake-up." Alby turned to the blond boy."Get her a bed, get her to sleep." He then turned and pushed his way through the crowd, everybody breaking up and returning to what they were doing. They all gave her a lingering look before walking away.

Before the blond could react, Clara rushed into the woods behind her without looking back. Panic swelled inside her as she fled, making her go faster; adrenaliadrenaline shot through her veins. She sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her, looking back to see if anyone was chasing her. After a few minutes running, she tripped over an exposed root and fell into a clearing, tumbling down a small hill. When she hit the ground, her back exploded in pain, going up her neck and down through her legs. She finally sat up, wincing, and backed into a tree; she leaned up against the rough bark. Taking heaving gasps, Clara came to realize what a horrifying situation ahe was in. And she began to cry, knowing she was alone.

Clara cried until dusk, the last bits of sun disappearing behind the stone walls that trapped her in. She crawled under the tree

and shut her eyes, trying to assure herself that her problems would go away if she slept. And luckily, the urge to sleep overwhelmed her, and eventually, the world seemed to slip away.


	3. chapter 3

Clara's eyes flew open to the sound of breaking branches. Someone was there. In a brief moment of panic, she jumped into a sitting position, her back pressing against the tree. Standing a few yards away from her, the blonde boy from the day before stared at the ground in shock, a pile of sticks crushed beneath his foot. Clara's shoulders relaxed at the sight of the only boy that she could trust. For a moment, she studied him.

The boy wore a white hoodie, the sleeves rolled up and the cloth smudged from hard days at work. He also had on brown jeans and sneakers. Across his chest were two leather straps for holding things. Like weapons. But Clara dismissed the idea. _Why would they need weapons anyway?_ , she thought.

The blond trudged over and dropped to the ground next to Clara, taking a nervous breath before speaking.

"Hello." was all he said. Clara hesitated a bit, confused by why he was being so friendly to her.

"Hi." They met each others gaze and Clara's heart couldn't help but flutter when she saw his eyes. They were deep brown and changed a different shade whenever he moved. She could even see flecks of gold in them.

"What's your name?" he asked, breaking their stare.

"Clara. What's yours?"

"Newt." he replied, giving her a lopsided smile.

"I like it. It's unique." There was a pause and they leaned against the tree trunk. Clara was appreciative of the peace. But it also made her remember where she was, and sadness settled over her. Her eyes filled with tears so Clara squeezed them shut.

"You've been brave, you know." Newt said.

"What do you mean?"

"When I first came up in the Box, I was crying nonstop for a week." Clara laughed softly.

"Well, thanks... I guess." Newt nodded and stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants, and held out a hand. Clara looked at him with wide eyes.

"I'll give you the Tour, don't be scared." he reassured her.

"I thought Alby was the only one who could do that. Will you be allowed to?"

"Eh, that shank won't mind. Come on." Clara decided she was going to trust Newt. He was the only good thing happening in her life at the moment. Clara took his hand and he helped her up. Newt's grip was strong, but gentle, almost protective. Clara wanted to stay there in that moment forever. But she reluctantly let go and followed her new friend out of the woods.


	4. chapter 4

As Newt brushed away the last branch on their path, Clara was in awe of the work bustling around the so called "Glade". Clara's senses were bombarded with the smells of dirt and wood shavings as well as the sound of pots and pans. The openings of the walls loomed around them, Clara wondered what was inside. A small "wow" escaped her lips and Newt looked over at her.

"We've come a long way. You should have seen it when we first got here." Before Clara could say anything else, she was interrupted by somone calling out to them. It was Alby.

"Newt! You takin' the Greenie on the Tour?" he yelled from a slanted building.

"Yeah. She seems more comfortable with me." Newt replied.

"Alright. Just start with the Bloodhouse." Alby then disappeared behind the doorway where he was standing. _Bloodhouse,_ Clara thought, _sounds lovely._ Newt led her towards a dark building with animal pens beside it. Inside, cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens roamed around and ate.

"This is the Bloodhouse." Newt explained "They raise and breed animals here, keep 'em fed until they're killed. For food, obviously."

Clara scrunched up her nose "So, they pretty much just hack animals into pieces everyday. Not my kind of job."

"Yeah, I can't blame you. Follow me."

Clara kept up with Newt as they made their way across the courtyard. A couple seconds later a group of boys ran towards them.

"Hey Newt.You comin' today?" a tall Asian boy asked.

"Not today, I'm taking this one on the Tour." he replied, jabbing his thumb at Clara.

"Oh. Tomorrow then?"

"Definitely." The boys started to jog again, separating into groups and running into the openings in the stone walls. Clara was overcome with curiosity on what they were doing, and what was in the corridors.

"What's in there? Clara asked.

"I'll tell you later." Newt said, dismissing the question. They arrived at the slanted building where Alby was and entered inside. As soon as they arrived, Clara was hit with the smell of cooking food, making her mouth water. "This is the Homestead. The kitchen is on the first floor, and the Medjacks are upstairs. This is also kind of a living area."

"What are Medjacks?" Clara asked

"They patch people up if they get hurt or sick. You can work with them or you can work as a cook with Frypan. He's the Keeper."

"Oh. I'm still not sure yet, I'll see when we're finished." The two exited the Homestead and walked over to the other side of the Glade that held various crops.

"These are the Gardens, the Keeper is Zart over there." Newt explained, pointing to a boy with black messy hair. His back was turned to them so Clara couldn't see him well." Here they take care of the produce for food. If you work here, you're gonna get your hands dirty." Clara considered it; it was probably the best thing so far.

"I think I'll do this one."

"Okay, I'll tell Alby when I see him." Clara nodded, maybe working would take her mind off where she was, give her a sense of normalcy.

After showing Clara the rest of the Glade, Newt led her towards a large grove of trees. The ones at the front were close to dying, but as they went deeper into the woods, the trees became more lush. It got darker as they walked, almost to where Clara could barely see. So much so that her foot caught on a hard object and she fell face first. Clara sharply cried out in pain and clutched her ankle, which was beginning to throb. She opened her eyes and found herself looking at a pile of bones. Human bones.

Clara scrambled back on her hands and feet but slipped, her ankle in searing pain. Her heart was racing, her head filled with a million thoughts. Newt was instantly by her side.

"Oh my gosh are you alright?" he asked, his face etched with concern.

"There are bones! Why are there bones?!" Clara shrieked.

"Your ankle is more important right now." Newt gently removed Clara's tense hands from her ankle, and his expression darkened. "It's bloody swollen..." he murmured. Clara's breathing quickened. She couldn't understand why human bones would be in a place full of teenagers.

"Calm down, shank. You're bloody hyperventilating." Newt said, snapping Clara out of her daze. She looked up at him, different emotions churning inside her. She wanted grab Newt's shirt, screaming for answers, she wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear, she wanted to cry. "Here, I'll help you up." Newt grabbed Clara's hand and pulled her off the ground. When she landed on her foot, immediately excruciating pain shot through her ankle. Clara paled and was close to passing out.

"Woah! Easy there." Newt said as Clara fell into him.

"I'm sorry, it hurts." she apologized, her eyes beginning to droop closed.

"It's fine." Newt said, putting Clara's arm around his shoulder, his arm holding her waist.

"I hate this place..."Clara mumbled, her vision clouding.

"Me too." was all she heard before she drifted out of consciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

Clara drifted in and out of consciousness, only perceiving blurry images. Newt worriedly glancing at her as he rushed her past other Gladers, entering the Homestead and going upstairs, being laid in a bed. She finally fluttered her eyes open to see Newt pacing at her bedside.

"Those shuckfaces don't know what they're bloody talkin' about..." he muttered angrily, noticing she was awake.

"What?" Clara asked, the grogginess in her voice obvious.

"They said you sprained your ankle tripping on that bloody tombstone, which I think is a bunch of klunk." _Tombstone?_ , Clara thought, then she remembered her fall in the woods, and the bones sticking out of the ground. The memory made her shudder.

"Are you alright, shank?" Newt asked. Clara sat up on the bed, ignoring the achiness running through her body, and looked Newt fiercely in the eyes.

"No. I'm not. I don't know where I am, there are bones and gigantic walls, and here I am sitting dumbfounded asking questions that no one will answer. I _need_ to knew what's going on, Newt." She said sternly. Newt sighed and pulled up a nearby chair next to her bed, sitting down and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Alright. Just promise me you won't klunk your pants." he said.

"Ew."

"Okay then. Well... we are surrounded by walls, right?" Clara nodded" These walls... sort of protect us from what's outside."

"What's outside?" Clara asked

"Grievers. They're... I don't even know what they are but they _will_ kill you, and what you saw in the Deadheads... is the product of someone finding one." Clara must've looked terrified, because Newt raised an eyebrow "Want me to stop?"

"No, no. Keep going."

"This place is a Maze, and we are in the center of it. We send Runners out there every day to map it out and see if we can leave."

"Who did this? What did we do to be here?"

"We don't know who put us here, or why, but they send us supplies and Greenies, like you. And I'm pretty sure they're watching us, somehow. We call them the Creators." Clara stayed silent while he spoke, taking every bit of available knowledge given to her. Soon after, a knock sounded on the door. Alby's head popped in and he stepped inside.

"Sprained ankle, huh?" he said " That doesn't make for a very good first impression."

 _Especially after what I saw while spraining it,_ Clara said internally. She figured Newt would tell Alby later, so she didn't say anything, she only nodded.

"So, " Alby began "you see any jobs you like during the Tour? Anything you'd want to do?"

"Uh, not really, no."

"Well, if you're able to, you're gonna have to start trying some out. For now, just get some rest, hopefully you'll be better by tomorrow." With that, Alby walked out of the room. Newt followed behind.

"See you tomorrow, Clara." he said, smiling and quietly shutting the door behind him. Clara then realized that the sky was growing dark, so because she had nothing else to do, she laid in bed and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Clara was tortured by nightmares that night. Human bones that changed into a skeleton that chased her across the Glade. Grievers, as looming shadows, consuming her. Painful memories that she couldn'teven make out, all blurs.

She was shaken awake when dawn was making its appearance. Covered in sweat, shaking hands, Clara looked at the person who woke her. Newt. Tears brimmed her eyes over the horrid images still engraved in her mind. Despite that, she felt relieved, knowing it was only a dream. Without thinking, she pulled Newt into a hug, and began to cry. At first, he was startled by Clara's sudden actions and hesitated. But soon enough, Newt put his arms around her shaking form.

"Hey, what happened?" he asked.

Clara sat back up, wiping her eyes "I had a nightmare. I just got scared for a second." she said between sniffles.

"Yeah, we've all gotten those at one point or another... but I'm glad you're okay. How's your ankle?"

"I don't know, fine, I guess. Hopefully."

"Do you want to try and stand on it?" Newt asked, standing up.

"Why not." Newt held out a hand. Clara took it, and slowly got up off the bed, trying not to stand too abruptly. When she put the weight on her ankle, there was only a soreness.

"How is it?" Newt asked, watching her intently.

"Sore, but I can deal with that." Newt let out a sigh of relief.

"That's good. C'mon, let's go find Alby so you can start working around here."

"Sounds good." They then exited the Homestead and made their way across the Glade.

 _ **Author's Note: This was the only way I could end the chapter, I apologize for it's shortness. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. Thanks!**_


	7. Chapter7

Newt and Clara finally found Alby standing by one of the openings of the Maze. Clara never realized how massive in size they were until she was right in front of them. She caught a glimpse of a few boys turning the corner from inside the stone walls. She suspected that they were going to map out the Maze like Newt told her they did.

"Hey Newt. You feeling better, Greenie?" Alby said.

"Yes, thanks." Clara replied. Then she turned and noticed Newt had left her side and was taking a backpack from a muscular Asian boy. Newt slung it over his shoulders and looked back at Clara.

"I'll be back soon, dont worry. Zart'll take care of you." With that, he ran off into the Maze without looking back.

"Zart's the Track-Hoe, right?" Clara asked Alby once Newt was out of sight.

"Yes.You'll be working with him today in the Gardens. Only to see if you like it. If you do, that'll be your new job. So you can go on over there and Zart will get you settled."

"Alright." Clara waved goodbye and walked over to the Gardens, trying to remember what Zart looked like. She finally found him bent over some crops, hard at work.

"Hi, Zart." she said. Zart stopped pulling weeds, straightened, and stretched out his back.

"Hey, Greenbean. Quite a scare you gave us yesterday." he joked "What happened?"

"I just hurt my ankle. But, it's better now so I was wondering if you needed any help around here. I'm testing the jobs out."

"Yeah, sounds good. Let's get started." he said, handing Clara a pair of gloves.

After showing Clara the ropes about weeding, planting, and harvesting, Zart basically left Clara to her own devices. With the little bit of information she had, she began to work. She spent hours weeding, planting squash and carrots, and picking apples from a large tree in the center of the Gardens. Clara didn't love it, but it was way much better than having to kill animals at the Bloodhouse.

As the sky turned pink, Clara yanked one last weed from the ground. She stood up triumphantly, wiping off the sweat on her forehead with her arm. She felt a light tap on her shoulder; she turned around to see Newt standing there, sweaty and weary-eyed.

"Hey," he greeted, taking a swig of water " how was work today?"

"Not bad, it was pretty enjoyable. How about you?"

"Eh. Same old, same old."

"Maybe to you. I've only been here for two days." Clara joked; Newt chuckled softly.

"I'm bloody starving, can we go eat now?"

"Yeah, tell me about it."

As the two walked across the grassy field to the Homestead, Clara decided to ask Newt a question that had been bugging her all day.

"So, what's _in_ the Maze?" she asked. Newt shrugged.

"Besides an occasional Griever, nothing but rocks and vines. It's quite boring, actually."

"Wow, I thought there'd be more to it... it seems so important to Alby and them. Alby goes crazy if I go within two yards of it." Clara muttered, slightly disappointed.

"Well, he has good reason to. It's extremely dangerous out there. We don't want you or anyone else getting hurt."

"Fair point."

The pair walked into to the Homestead, grabbed their dinner, and sat down on the benches outside, enjoying the cool air. A few Gladers tried to flirt with Clara, including the tall Asian boy she'd seen before, but she was unbothered.

Newt seemed to care, however. Every time someone would pass by, he would give them a glare as a warning. When someone would actually hit on Clara, Newt wouldn't look up from his plate.

"Cool it..." he would mutter under his breath.

Clara had just finished eating when a loud boom exploded through the air, making her jump. The noise was followed by a horrible grinding sound. It was as if the whole world was shaking beneath her feet; Clara covered her ears with her hands, panic settling in her chest.

She looked at one of the Maze entrances. The stone wall at the East entrance was sliding against the ground, rock against rock. The right part of the wall was moving toward the one on the left. Clara then noticed that the other three entrances were doing the same thing. The walls finally sealed shut, trapping Clara inside the Glade.

"Wow." was all she could muster.

"They do that every night." Newt explained; Clara had completely forgotten he was there. "You'll get used to it soon. For now, we need to get some shut eye."

Clara reluctantly followed, knowing that Newt probably not in the mood for any more questions. He led her to a small awning by the Homestead, where about 50-60 hammocks hung from the ceiling. Each hammock had a name posted above it on a piece of wood. Newt stopped at a brand new one with no name.

"This one's yours. The Builders will probably have your name up there by tomorrow, you'll just have to wait til then."

"I think I'll live."

Newt smirked and crawled into the hammock beside hers. Clara then attempted to get into her own, ignoring Newt's stifled laughs. As she finally settled in, she rolled over to face her friend.

"I could get used to this." She sighed in relaxation.

Newt smiled. "No more nightmares?"

"No more nightmares."

"Well, goodnight, Clara." Newt replies, yawning.

"Goodnight, Newt." Clara said. She soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


	8. Chapter8

(1 week later)

Clara had been in the Glade for more than a week, and she had already begun to fit in. She became good friends with the flirty Asian boy she had met before, whose name was Minho. There were a rare few that still attempted to flirt with her, but Alby's scoldings would keep them under control. She continued working with Zart and the other Track-hoes, whom she became friends with.

Newt had been acting strange the previous week; not like himself. He became moody, he was normal one day, but angry and sad the next. His appearance became more and more disheveled. Clara would wake up to him tossing and turning in his hammock. On days he wasn't working, he would walk deep into the Deadheads and not appear again for hours. Clara was concerned something wasn't right and she wanted to talk to him, but work consumed her days and friends distracted her in the evenings. Soon, Clara slowly began to forget about it.

Clara woke up one morning to find Newt's hammock empty. _He must be running today,_ she thought nonchalantly as she slipped out of her hammock. She headed over to the Homestead to get a quick breakfast from Frypan before work. Her day was filled with weeding and harvesting as usual, but something didn't seem right; Clara didn't know what it was but something felt off.

Once the day was over, Clara finished her work and made her way to dinner. She grabbed a sandwich, an apple and some water before sitting down on one of the picnic benches. She barely started eating before a figure jogged out of the Maze. Minho. He ran straight past Clara without a greeting, instead heading straight for Alby. When he got to Alby Minho whispered something in his ear; Alby's expression changed to concern. Before Clara knew it, Alby was darting into the Maze. There was obviously something going on, and from what she could see, it probably wasn't good. Her heart beat began to quicken when she realized Newt hadn't come back yet. All the Runners were back at this time.

Minho finally walked over to her with a sandwich and an armful of water bottles. He plopped down on the bench beside her and started chugging his water.

"Is everything alright?" Clara asked, her tone strained.

Minho finished drinking and sighed " Newt hasn't come out of the Maze yet. When all the Runners met at our rendezvous point he never showed. We tried looking for him, but we couldn't find him."

His response didn't make Clara feel any better. She thought of how dangerous the Maze was, the amount of possibilities of getting hurt... or killed. The best case scenario was that Newt had gotten lost, but that was still unnerving.

Once Minho finished eating, he and Clara gathered by the West door along with the other Gladers, and waited for Alby and Newt's return. The tension among the crowd was suffocating. Clara watched anxiously for any sign of movement, and soon enough, her prayers were answered. Alby appeared from around the corner, and Clara realized her worst fears had come true:

He was dragging Newt's lifeless body with him.


	9. Chapter9

For a second, all Clara could hear was muffled shouts. Her ears began to ring in shock, and she stood there in a daze, unable to process what was going on. Her eyes were only focused on Newt's body lying in the grass. She didn't even notice the Maze doors close for the night.

Clara finally snapped out of her stupor when she realized no one had called for help yet.

"Medjacks!" She shrieked, kneeling down beside Newt. His face and arms were peppered with cuts and bruises, all minor wounds. But that was nothing compared to what Clara saw next.

She stifled a scream of pure horror at the sight of Newt's left leg. It was a broken, twisted, bloody mess of a limb. Bones were prominent above the skin and blood was spilling everywhere. His foot was close to bending the wrong way. Clara almost threw up her measly dinner.

Clint and Jeff finally arrived to the scene, holding a long wooden board, a poor excuse for a stretcher. As they hauled Newt onto the board, they prodded Alby with questions.

"Where did you find him?"

"He was by one of the walls, he was unconscious when I got there." Alby answered as he helped hoist the board carefully into the air.

Clint, Jeff, and Alby started to make their way towards the Homestead, walking as fast as they could. Clara left Minho's side and ran to catch them.

"You can't come Greenie." Alby huffed as Clara jogged beside them.

"Alby," Clara pleaded " he's my friend. I want to help."

Alby thought about it for a few moments, his expression turning from annoyance to sympathy.

"Fine, just... don't get in the way."

The group was able to get inside the Homestead and lay Newt on a bed. The Medjacks then started attempting to piece Newt's leg back together. Clara watched intently as they worked; she felt vulnerable knowing that she couldn't help her friend. As they began, Newt regained consciousness.

His eyes opened, and when he saw what was going on, his face turned from panic to confusion to pain in a span of five seconds. Then, as the Medjacks started putting pressure on his leg, he closed his eyes and grimaced. Clara hated seeing Newt like this. In an instant, she was clutching Newt's hand like a lifeline. She held their intertwined hands to her chest and laid a hand on his shoulder.

Newt let out a heart-wrenching wail as Clint pushed a bone back into place. Tears threatened to spill over Clara's eyes; she never realized how much Newt meant to her.

"We're going to start putting stitches in." Clint said. "Clara? Keep doing what you're doing."

Clara nodded solemnly as they Jeff started stitching up Newt's leg.

Newt gritted his teeth in agony during the process; Clara tried to comfort him but she didn't know if it was working. She just kept whispering to him and rubbing hoods shoulder in an attempt to show Newt she was there.

A couple minutes later Clint had finished and was gently wrapping up Newt's leg. Jeff opened the door and motioned for Clara and Alby to exit. When they left the door closed softly behind them, leaving them in the hallway. Clara grabbed Alby's arm and pulled him outside the Homestead.

"He's never running again, right?" Clara asked suddenly.

"I wouldn't say never, he can heal up and head back out there as soon as possible."

"He almost died!" Clara exclaimed in bewilderment "We can't let that happen again! Is there anything you can do?"

Alby sighed, giving into her pleas. He always gave in. "Okay, if Newt's injury doesn't fully recover, he won't run. Deal?"

"Deal." Clara shook his hand and walked towards the Homestead.

"Woah, where are you going?" Alby stopped Clara in her tracks. She turned back around and faced him.

"I can't leave Newt alone. Not tonight." At her answer Alby shrugged and went the other way.

Clara walked to Newt's room and slowly opened the door. She was relieved to find him peacefully sleeping on the bed, his bad leg propped up on a pillow. She sat in the chair near his bed and tried to get comfortable. Clara was glad Newt was alive. It would've never been the same without him. After a while of shifting in her seat her eyes finally drooped closed and fell asleep.


End file.
